Group proposes deck over terminal

Port panel frowns on possibility of arena

SAN DIEGO – A proposal to build a massive deck over the 10th Avenue Marine Terminal that could support a hotel, a sports arena, a stadium or a park was met with everything from opposition to disbelief yesterday.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said he met with members of San Diego Community Solutions, a group touting the privately funded deck, on Wednesday.

“They had an engineer with them who said they could build the deck with two levels of parking,” Sanders said. “I asked out of curiosity how you could engineer something like this. I'd have to understand it better before I could even have an opinion.”

The group plans to launch an initiative next week to see if it can gather enough signatures from voters in San Diego, Coronado, Chula Vista, National City and Imperial Beach to qualify the proposal for the November ballot.

The five cities have representatives on the Port Commission, which operates the cargo terminal southeast of the San Diego Convention Center.

Attorneys for the San Diego Unified Port District and the State Lands Commission are researching whether an initiative would have legal authority over the bayfront, which has limited uses under state law.

Scott Maloni, a spokesman for the group, said the ballot measure is aimed at preserving the existing maritime business and advocates the construction of a new cruise ship terminal to replace or supplement existing facilities. The deck is intended to create new parking for downtown, but what goes on top is not a subject of the vote, he said.

“There is no project associated with the initiative,” he said.

The group includes developer Richard Chase, who has been engaged for years in an effort to bring a new landfill to Gregory Canyon near the Pala Indian Reservation in North County. He was among representatives of the group who met with Sanders and port officials this week.

Although the group says it is not recommending any specific use, port officials zeroed in on the possibility of a stadium, which they would not support.

Commission Chairman Michael Bixler of Imperial Beach said a previous effort to put a Chargers stadium at the 10th Avenue terminal was soundly defeated by the commission in 2004, and he would not expect a different outcome this time.

“For us, maritime business and a working waterfront – including our two cargo terminals and our cruise ship terminal – are our number one priority,” Bixler said. “That's what the state says it should be, and that's what the Port Commission has always said it should be.”

The 96-acre 10th Avenue facility handles fresh fruit, newspaper, sand, concrete and other products that are shipped to the port and distributed by truck.

Chase proposed a deck at the same location in 1998 for a Padres ballpark as part of a $1 billion development, but the Port Commission rejected it.

Port spokeswoman Irene McCormack said the federal government has placed severe security restrictions on U.S. ports since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.